Inequality In Yann Martel's A & P

518 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Oppression of women

A & P is a story of a young teenager boy named Sammy and three teenage girls who against to Lengel, the manager of the A & P. Girls were different than other customers in the store and Sammy felt the attractiveness from them. Sammy named the leader of three girls “Queenie,” because he thought she is beautiful and naturally in grace. After reading this story one might come with Queenie was rude to Lengel, but what she did was the right thing. Lengel was the one who treated girls in the wrong way and Queenie just tried to stand up for themselves. Stand up for oneself is an important thing to do during the life, because the most of part of the world is unfair. Most of the people treating bad to someone who does not speak out one's opinion, because people think one will not fight back for oneself anyway; therefore, it is fine to treat one inequality. Like this tale, supporting oneself is not working for the all the time. In this story, Lengel handle girls unfairly. He should treat them same as other customers, even though, girls wear that outfits which is not matching for the store. Moreover, the store manager said, "Girls, this isn't the beach," and "But this …show more content…

At the first time, she said "My mother asked me to pick up a jar of herring snacks" ( Updike 151). Queenie tried to explain Lengel, they will not stay long in the A & P, but Lengel was an old man who is very literal. His attitude towards them made her to feel embarrassing and unpleasant. Suddenly, Queenie said "We are decent" ( Updike 151), Lengel did not want to argue about it. It is a little bit of the irony, Lengel did not try to argue with her when Queenie said that sentence; if he did not want to assert about girls bathing suits, then he did not have to tell them his shop isn't the beach. Moreover, other customers did not help girls, Sammy called them as the sheep, just seeing the scene. Queenie struggled for herself and her friends was

Show More
Related

  • Comparing A & P And David Updike's Summer

    1837 Words  | 4 Pages

    John Updike “A&P” is around a kid named Sammy who is the storyteller in the story. Sammy is working in the “A&P” business sector working when he seen three unshod young ladies in their swimming outfits strolling into the store. One of the young lady get his attention with her swimming outfit straps down. She strolls all through the store and never even take a gander at Sammy. Sammy named the young lady Queenie in light of the fact that she strolls

    Read More

  • A&P by John Updike and Gryphon by Charles Baxter

    788 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout “A&P” and “Gryphon” the two characters found themselves facing a challenge that they had never had to face before. Reading both of the stories has shown that although different adversities were represented in the books they both had challenges and reactions that were similar to each other as well as very different. Sammy’s was about a store called “A&P” where the manager confronted three girls in bathing suits and Sammy had to stand up for them. Tommy’s was about a unique substitute teacher who he quite enjoyed and his journey with her, and his defending her to the other kids when one of the children gets her fired. Together and separately these two dynamic characters make up these unique stories that ensnared their reader with their thoughts, adversity and heroic actions throughout the story.

    Read More

  • Growth of Sammy in John Updike's A&P

    945 Words  | 2 Pages

    At the beginning of A&P, Sammy notices that three girls have walked into the store with only there bathing suits on.  At first, poor Sammy cannot see the girls because he was at register 3 with his back toward the door.  When they finally get into his sight, he immediately size the girls up.  "The one that caught my eye first was the one in the placid green two-piece.  She was a chunky kid, with a good tan and a sweet broad soft-looking can with those two crescents of white just under it, where the sun never seems to hit, at the top of the backs of her legs."  He also gives a description of the other two girls.  He says one has "a chubby berry-faces, her lips all bunched  together under her nose and the tall one, with black hair that hadn't quite frizzed right, and one of these sunburns right across under the eyes and a chin that was too long--you know, the kind of girl other girls think is very "striking" and "attractive" but never quite makes it, as they very well know, which is why they like her so much."  This comments illustrate his immaturity.  Sammy refers to one of the girls as queen.  He calls her queen because she seems to be the leader. ...

    Read More

  • Truth about Sammy in John Updike's A&P

    1092 Words  | 3 Pages

    While it's true that Sammy finds the three scantily-clad girls who enter the supermarket attractive, as would any normal nineteen-year-old male, what is most notable about his descriptions of the girls, and particularly of the "leader" of the group, is that Sammy holds them in contempt. Once we get beyond the descriptions of their bodies, we see nothing but derogatory comments directed at them, including the derisive nicknames that Sammy assigns to them. Nowhere is this more evident than in Sammy's description of the leader, "Queenie." The nickname assigned to her by Sammy points out the stereotypical snap judgment that Sammy makes about her personality and social status initially, and to which Sammy rigidly adheres despite no real evidence of its accuracy. From the description of her "prima donna" legs, to his imagining of ...

    Read More

  • Sammy and the Setting in John Updike's "A&P"

    669 Words  | 2 Pages

    John Updike's "A&P" is about a boy named Sammy, who lives a simple life while working in a supermarket he seems to despise. As he is following his daily routine, three girls in bathing suits enter the store. The girls affect everyone's monotonous lives, especially Sammy's. Because the girls disrupt the routines of the store, Sammy becomes aware of his life and decides to change himself.

    Read More

  • John Updike A & P Transition Into Adulthood

    900 Words  | 2 Pages

    Sammy watches every step the girls take while criticizing and admiring them at the same time. His observations of the leader who he refers to as Queenie and her followers give him an insight of who they are personally. Sammy likes Queenie as she possesses confidence which sets her apart from the group. Sammy, still being a young boy likes that her bathing suit has “slipped on her a little bit” (Updike 158). Updike conveys the obvious that Sammy cannot look away from Queenie when “there was nothing between the top of the suit and the top of her head except just her”. Updike includes these small details and imagery to indulge the reader in the perception that Sammy at this point in his life is a clueless teenage

    Read More

  • Social Class in A & P by John Updike

    372 Words  | 1 Pages

    As the student develops his essay, Sammy begins to compare the girls to other customers in the store. From “houseslaves in pin curlers” to “an old party in baggy gray pants” (2192 ), Sammy negatively characterizes customers in contrast to the leader of the girls, Queenie. To Sammy, the girl is someone that is not from their town. She is everything that every girl envies and wants to be. In contrast to Sammy, she will spend her summer vacationing while he spends it working. It is clear to Sammy that their worlds are different, however it is also obvious that he would like to explore hers.

    Read More

  • A & P - John Updike

    649 Words  | 2 Pages

    Sammy's feelings for Queenie changes when he hears her voice. Her voice is normal and he has built this romantic image of her in his mind. Hearing her voice and realizing she is a normal person, (that happens to be wealthy) slightly changes his feelings for her. It brings him back to reality a little. “Her voice kind of startled me, the way voices do when you see the people first, coming out so flat and dumb yet kind of tony, too, the way it ticked over "pick up" and "snacks." All of a sudden I slid right down her voice into her living room.” Sammy feels as if he has no chance to get noticed by her unless he does something out of the ordinary. So after she is done arguing with Lengel, Sammy decides to stand up for her and quit his job in hopes that she will notice him.

    Read More

  • Trapped by Society in John Updike's A&P

    785 Words  | 2 Pages

    Sammy's thoughts, as told to the reader in his narration, betray a deep understanding of the people he comes in contact with. When the girls walked into the store, he began to describe not only their looks, but also their attitudes and personalities without ever speaking to them. The one who held his attention was also the one he named "Queenie". On page one he says, She was the queen. She kind of led them, the other two peeking around and making their shoulders round. Sammy understood that she was the one in charge, and by saying that the other two made their shoulders round he showed that he realized their passivity was by choice; they followed her by their own wills.

    Read More

  • An Analysis of John Updike's A&P

    715 Words  | 2 Pages

    As they go about their errands, Sammy observes the reactions, of the other customers, to this trio of young women. He uses the word "Sheep" to describe the store regulars, as they seem to follow one and other, in their actions and reactions. The girls, however, appear to be unique in all aspects of their beings: walking, down the isles, against the grain, going barefoot and in swim suits, amongst the properly attired clientele. They are different, and this is what catches and holds Sammy's attention. He sees them in such detail, that he can even see the queen of the bunch.

    Read More

  • John Updike's A&P

    532 Words  | 2 Pages

    Lengel, the manager of the store, spots the girls and gives them a hard time about their dress in the store. He tells them, “Girls, this isn’t the beach.” He says that they are not dressed appropriately to come into this grocery store. Lengel’s words cause Queenie to get embarrassed and start to blush. Sammy cannot believe this and gets frustrated at his boss. He doesn’t believe that it is right to prosecute these innocent girls for the way they are dressed. He also states at this point that the sheep are piling up over in Stokesie line trying to avoid all the commotion the scene has caused. I believe Sammy takes this as the last straw in a long string of aggravations.

    Read More

  • Comparing Girl by Jamaica Kincaid and A&P by John Updike

    1222 Words  | 3 Pages

    In each short story the character(s) the author highlights are young girls. This is first evident in the title alone in “Girl” where the title already gives the impression of a universally known stereotype as being young, and naïve. Although the title “A&P” does not suggest the same implication, within the story the reader learns quickly that the girls described in the story are in fact young, and innocent and lacking instruction just as the character in “Girl.” Understanding the characters is important because it sheds light on the reasons why they do what they do, and give reason to the plot. In which case, the characters even become the plot, such as the two short stories referenced. The girls described by Sammy in “A&P,” consume much of the story just by description, making it unmistakable their character. “...And then the third one, that wasn’t quite so tall. She was the queen. She kind of led them...” (Updike). Momentarily the reader is able to develop an image of these girls because everybody, young or old, most probably has been witness to this type of entourage throughout middle/high school. The girl being referred to by Sammy, Queenie, is oblivious to the fact she is stirring up the scene in the store, showing her naivety. Similarly, in “Girl” the fact that the young girl is being given instructions on how to behave as an adolescent girl by her mother, is reason to believe she is so inexperienced that her mother felt the instructions were necessary. The girls both have not realized the expectations society has upon the female population, nor the conseque...

    Read More

  • Gender And Gender Roles In A & P, By John Updike

    1307 Words  | 3 Pages

    By them going against their gender roles and being inappropriately dressed in A & P, they also create the possibility for tragedy to occur. The manager of A & P, Lengel, an old Sunday school teacher embodies what is expected to be the male gender role of that time when he publically chastises the girls for being dressed in that manner in the store. Despite the girls’ attempts to justify their actions of being dressed in this manner by saying that they only came in to buy one thing, Lengel maintains his masculine gender role of keeping women in line. Lengel states quite matter-of-factly, “We want you decently dressed when you come in here.” (Updike 234). It is at this moment that Queenie pushes the envelope even further in going against her gender roles, by answering back Lengel. Queenie’s response of “We are decent,” (Updike 234) shows her somewhat rebellious and disrespectful nature, and her disregard for Lengel’s patriarchal authority. She instead would have been expected in this scenario to possibly apologize to Lengel and leave the store with her friends since he was not only male but senior to her thus demanding her

    Read More

  • A & P, by John Updike

    1758 Words  | 4 Pages

    The beginning of “A & P” starts with the main character, Sammy, at work when three girls in nothing but bathing suits walks in. According to Lawrence Dessner, the A & P check out counter showed Sammy a sample of insult and indignity of ordinary people (317). He may not have liked the people that shopped there, but he received insight of the real world. A woman that was currently at Sammy's counter was middle aged and brought Sammy no sympathy to the shoppers; he sometimes mention them as sheep. His names of the shoppers also include insight of Sammy's view of the ordinary shoppers; Sammy did not care much for others.

    Read More

  • Sammy's Motives

    612 Words  | 2 Pages

    Queenie and her friends are outraged, and they give Lengel attitude right back as they defend themselves. The girls are eager to leave the store, and Sammy realizes this is his chance to be their hero, so he decides to quit. Lengel asks, "Did you say something, Sammy?" Sammy replies, "I said I quit." Lengel responds, "I thought you did." Sammy stands up to his boss, "You didn't have to embarrass them" (60). This is how Sammy uses his bravery and courage to stand against Lengel's rude behavior and not conform to social ideology. His ulterior motives were to leave a good impression on the girls and defend them, but they had already fled the parking

    Read More

More about Inequality In Yann Martel's A & P

Open Document